Google's Pac-Man 30th anniversary: Insert coin to destroy office productivity
For the Pac-Man 30th anniversary, Google outdid itself with a fully playable version of the video game.
Insert coin to enjoy the Pac-Man 30th anniversary game on Google.
Update: Pac-Man has left Google's homepage. But you can keep playing the game for free. Find out how here.
TGIF! But if the weekend can't come soon enough, consider celebrating the Pac-Man 30th anniversary from the comfort of your office chair.
Google has one-upped itself with an interactive homage to the arcade classic.
Click on the novelty logo to initiate a fully playable Pac-Man game. Or, grab a friend and click "Insert Coin" twice to start a two-player match with Ms. Pac-Man as your trusty sidekick. Use the arrow keys to control our insatiable pixel protagonist and Player Two can navigate his lady friend with the W, A, S, and D keys.
This unprecedented Google Doodle will stay up for 48 hours "because it’s too cool to keep for just one day," writes designer Marcin Wichary on the company's blog.
"PAC-MAN seems like a natural fit for the Google homepage," Mr. Wichary continues. "They’re both deceptively straightforward, carefully hiding their complexity under the hood. There’s a light-hearted, human touch to both of them. And we can only hope you find using Google at least a quarter as enjoyable as eating dots and chasing ghosts. You know, without actually needing any quarters."
Google constantly innovates on these custom logos – from Newton's falling Apple to a click-through picture book for Hans Christian Andersen. This leads us to ask yet again: What will Google try next? When we posed this question to readers, Sal Greco suggested a "hip-shaking Elvis."
Commenter Frank also wanted more moving Google doodles: "Why daunt users with the same boring logo when they can be animated with a little extra character again and again!"
And Monitor reader Marie is wishing for an animated "Edgar Allen Poe, especially if you can get the bird to fly!"
What do you think? Share your ideas (and high scores) in the comments below.